CVE-2025-3105 in Vehica Core Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/04/2025
The Vehica Core plugin for WordPress, used by the Vehica - Car Dealer & Listing WordPress Theme, is vulnerable to privilege escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.0.97. This is due to the plugin not properly validating user meta fields prior to updating them in the database. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to change escalate their privileges to Administrator.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/04/2025
The Vehica Core plugin represents a critical security vulnerability that affects WordPress environments utilizing the Vehica - Car Dealer & Listing theme. This vulnerability manifests as a privilege escalation flaw that undermines the fundamental security model of WordPress installations. The issue specifically targets versions up to and including 1.0.97, indicating a prolonged period during which the vulnerability remained unaddressed. The flaw exists within the plugin's user meta field validation mechanisms, creating a pathway for malicious actors to manipulate core user permissions. Security researchers have identified this as a significant concern because it allows attackers with minimal privileges to achieve elevated access levels, fundamentally compromising the security posture of affected installations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation within the plugin's administrative functions. When authenticated users with subscriber-level access or higher attempt to update user meta fields, the plugin fails to properly sanitize or validate the incoming data before persisting it to the database. This validation gap creates an opportunity for attackers to inject malicious metadata that modifies user capabilities. The flaw operates at the database interaction level where user meta information is stored, allowing unauthorized privilege modification through carefully crafted requests. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes improper input validation, and represents a classic example of how inadequate data sanitization can lead to severe access control breaches.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, creating substantial risk for WordPress administrators and site owners. An attacker with subscriber-level access can leverage this flaw to gain full administrative control over the WordPress installation, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The attack vector requires minimal privileges, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by users who have legitimate access to the system but should not possess administrative capabilities. This vulnerability essentially undermines the principle of least privilege that forms the foundation of secure system design. The implications include potential data theft, unauthorized content modification, malware deployment, and complete system takeover, all of which align with tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation and persistence techniques.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term security hardening measures. The most critical action involves updating the Vehica Core plugin to version 1.0.98 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the validation flaw. Site administrators should implement comprehensive monitoring of user meta field modifications and establish automated alerting for suspicious privilege changes. Network security controls should be enhanced to detect and block unauthorized attempts to manipulate user capabilities through the plugin's API endpoints. Security teams should conduct thorough audits of user permissions and implement role-based access controls to minimize the impact of potential exploitation. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of regular security assessments and timely patch management processes, as described in industry best practices for WordPress security maintenance and compliance with standards such as NIST SP 800-128. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security layers including web application firewalls and privileged access management solutions to protect against similar future vulnerabilities.